Binded
by Impassive Tears
Summary: I loved you. I hurt you.
1. Craig

**Ah, I literally started crying writing this :_: I hope you like and if you review, I might be tempted to upload another chapter, perhaps from Tweek's point of view.**

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**I did what you asked of me**

_"Tweek, do you want to..." The noirette's sentence trailed off as he saw the wounded and weeping figure of his best friend. _

_"What happened?" Craig asked carefully, kneeling next to and putting his arms around Tweek. Tweek gulped, a painfully audible gulp, like the one you would hear when you swallow that lump in your throat, and sniffled, rubbing at his stinging eyes._

_"I...nngh they...I tried...Gah Craig? ...Just stay." And then Tweek looked up at Craig; eyes bloodshot, cheeks crimson. Craig nodded, and pressed his lips against the blonde's forehead. _

_"Always."_

**_I looked out for you_**

_"Cartman, you fucking asshole!" Craig yelled, marching towards his worst enemy, Clyde and Token in tow. _

_"What now, Craigy boy?" Cartman sneered, obviously lacking in creativity and effect regarding his insults. Craig rolled his eyes and stopped, only a few feet away from the obese bully._

_"You know what." Craig spoke, flashing angry and cold blue orbs at the opponent. Blue meets black. Cartman flinched ever so slightly, Craig noted, at the icy stare._

_"That freak knew what was coming for-" Cartman's taunting was cut short as he was shoved roughly onto the ground. Craig clenched his fists, making sure to leave his thumb on top, then gave Cartman an almost sad and pitiful look, his face finally showing some compassion to those outside of his best friends and immediate family._

_A few seconds of silence passed, but it didn't last for long. Screams, shouts, cheers, cries and encouragements flew about the air as Craig straddled Cartman and began to pummel him. He punched Cartman in the face twice. Two for the times Cartman had already messed with his friend. He stood up and kicked him hard in the stomach once. One for hurting the person he loved. He knelt down, knowing Cartman would be too weak to push him away or hit him while he had the chance, and dug his fingers into Cartman's bare arms, curving them so his nails scratched at the flabby skin. One. Two. Three. Four. Five...Twelve scratches. Twelve for how many years he had known and cared for Tweek Tweak._

_Then, he was being pulled away, forced to meet the loathing glares of Kyle, Stan and Kenny, then shoved inside the school building, instructed to go straight to Principal Victoria's office whilst they dealt with "poor Eric's" boo-boos. _

_Craig smirked and ran straight to the nurses office. Tweek was sitting on the bed, looking out the window onto the playground, where the fight had taken place. As soon as Craig entered the room, he jumped, and in a calm voice asked Craig the question that simply itched to fall off his lips the most._

_"WhY?" No stutters, no trembles. Tweek could control it when he really wanted to, but not often. Craig let out a pant, holding one finger up to signal he needed some time to gather up oxygen and slow his heart beat. Tweek nodded, and looked awaay. Moments later, he was whirled around, Craig's forehead pressed against his and a firm grip on his arms._

_"Because I love you." Was Craig's monotone reply. Tweek's hazel eyes searched Craig's own ones. _

_"GAH! You do? H-how long?" Tweek pressed, closing his eyes in anticipation of a 'No, I'm just joking... Haha - your face!' or something along those lines. He was surprised when Craig gently pecked him on the lips._

_"Always."_

**_I looked after you_**

_"Hey Mom." Craig greeted as Mrs Tweak opened the door, strolling right on through. That's the thing about best friends, they're so close they're almost like siblings. They were at each other's house so often they had taken to declaring each other's parents as their own._

_"Oh, hi Craig, I'm afraid you can't see Tweek today." Craig lingered by the foot of the stairs. "He's ill, and I would to have to call your mother and tell her I let my son affect hers. I mean, I do worry she already doesn't take too kindly to me..." Mrs Tweak rambled. her speed of talking identical to her sons. Craig raised an eyebrow. _

_"Mom, I really don't care." He told her earnestly, running up the stairs. He chuckled when he entered the room, eyeing up his sick friend._

_"GAH!" Tweek shrieked as he caught sight of Craig, then cringed. "G-go," Tweek coughed. "Away!" He didn't want Craig to see him like this. Craig smirked and made his way to the bed, sitting on it and clasping Tweek's hand._

_"You still look cute to me, you know." Tweek snorted. His blonde hair was damp, stuck to his forehead, his face lacking in colour completely, and not to mention his burning forehead and constant coughing._

_"Ack! Stop lying Craig, I look awful." Tweek sneezed, turning away quickly and pushing his nose into his elbow. "I am sort of glad you're here though,. Mom's too busy to keep me not bored." Tweek sighed. Craig smiled._

_"Is there anything I can do for you?" Craig offered, with a slight teasing tone to his voice. Unfazed, Tweek shaking arms gestured towards the empty cup by his bedside table. Craig nodded curtly and grabbed it, walking away to refill it._

_- x -_

_A few days later, Tweek had fully recovered but the same couldn't be said for Craig. The same day Craig went to visit Tweek, he too fell ill with the winter virus. _

_"Hi, are you alright?" Tweek asked, anxiety obvious in his voice as he spoke quickly, nervous to hear the answer. Craig rolled over, and closed his eyes briefly after seeing the trembling frame of his best friend standing in the doorway._

_"Yeah, sure." Craig coughed, covering his mouth with one hand. "Come on then." He ushered and Tweek obeyed, rushing over to the bed. Tweek placed the palm of his small hand on Craig's forehead and moaned._

_"I'm so sorry, Craig!" Tweek apologised, wrapping his bony around Craig. Craig rolled his eyes, but snuggled into his embrace._

_"Shh. You were ill, I came. Now, I'm ill, you came. No one told us to. We just do these things for each other." Craig paused, tracing a pattern with his fingers on Tweek's naked arm. "I'll always look after you, you know." Tweek gave him a smile and kissed him on his nose, not caring if he somehow got sick again._

_"Always."_

**_I loved you_**

_"It's amazing, Craig..." Tweek informed him, as Craig pulled him closer. Craig nodded, pecking the top of Tweek's head and looking up at the constellations. _

_"I love you." Tweek whispered, and Craig went rigid for a few seconds. He rolled them over so he was on top of Tweek, and letting his arms fall to either side of the boy. He dove in for a kiss but pulled away just before Tweek lost his head._

_"I love you too, so much." Craig told him. It was odd, for someone as seemingly stoic as him, but it felt like he had waited forever to hear those three words and now that he had, he was in complete bliss. He moved off of Tweek and pulled them both up, letting them just sit there and look at South Park from the hill they had claimed._

_"Always."_

**_I hurt you_**

_Craig brought his reddened face to his hands as he sobbed quietly. He had lost him, and this time he wouldn't be finding him again._

_He went through everything in his mind he should have said, should have done. From not sleeping with someone else to convincing Tweek not to leave._

_It was all his fault. He wasn't even drunk. He remembered the fight Tweek and him had, over some petty thing like always, ending with Tweek rushing out of the apartment and Craig calling Kenny, just a friend of a friend, to come over. _

_He fell off the sofa, clutching his sides, as if the pain was physical as well. He thought about how quickly he got into bed with Kenny, dismissing his thoughts of Tweek and how he might have been making the worst mistake of his life._

_He curled into a ball and simply cried, knowing he had done it this time. Never again would he see the twitching, trembling boy he loved more than anything. But no, he had to try._

_He snatched his phone from the floor, something he had flung away ten minutes ago when Tweek kept hanging up. He dialled Tweek's number again, figures he had memorised when he was 14, knowing it would go straight to voicemail._

_"T-tweek, please don't hang up." He got out, talking as if he was having a conversation with Tweek, not the voice mail machine. He squeezed his eyes shut._

_"I know I hurt you - Fuck, I'm probably hurting you more now. I c-can't promise I'll never hurt you again...But Tweek I n-need you." He wiped away his tears as he stared right ahead of him, a smile teasing his lips from the irony of what he was going to say next. _

_"Always."_


	2. Tweek

_**I did what you asked of me**_

"_Craig!" Tweek gasped, walking in to see his friend fast asleep in his Red Racer bed, a large, black bruise coloured around his eye. He didn't dare to look for anymore injuries; he had seen enough, and it broke his heart. He slipped onto Craig's bed, gently shaking him awake._

"_W-what h-happened?" Tweek demanded, his eyes filling up with tears. Craig was still stirring, his eyes opening slowly. Craig put a finger to his lips, his third finger, to be precise, and Tweek scowled, but leaned into Craig's embrace as his arms wrapped around him._

"_Shut up, and don't you dare leave me." Tweek would never dream of doing such a thing. He thought about who might have done that to Craig, his dad, the guys, he had no idea. It wasn't important, in that moment. All that mattered was Craig was okay, and in his arms, and they were holding each other. If they let go then, they might very well have fallen apart._

"_I'll stay with y-you." Tweek muttered into Craig's chest as he looked up, his fingers lightly tracing his cuts and darkened patches of skin. Craig gave him a tiny smile briefly, and Tweek held his own one for longer, his hazel eyes trained on Craig's hurt face._

"_Forever."_

_**I looked out for you**_

_Tweek looked across the hallway, turning to see who Craig was glaring at. His eyes narrowed as they met Token's dark ones. It had been a week since Craig and Token had disowned each other, due to a fight Craig never quite explained, and like hell Tweek would go to Token looking for answers, and Token had been nothing but horrible ever since._

_Craig didn't show it, but he was hurting. Tweek knew that. His best friend was angry, but also sad. They watched as Token passed out posters, detailing a party to come at his house. Tweek was sickened at the gesture. He had spent so much time and effort planning Craig's birthday party, only for Token, who had thought up the idea, to stab them both right in the back and ensure no one would be going to celebrate Craig's 14__th__. Tweek wasn't having that._

"_You're an f-fucking asshole, T-token!" Tweek cried, marching across the hall and slamming Token into the locker with all the force he could muster up. Token grunted, and raised his fist, but Tweek caught it in his tiny hand and kneed Token in the balls, effectively ending his retaliation. Token groaned and fell to the ground as Craig approached, stoic but shocked._

_Tweek smiled at him, then stared back at his old friend. "I s-swear to Christ T-token, if you s-so much as invite one more p-person, I will kill you!" Tweek promised. It was an empty threat, as the blonde would never think about hurting a person THAT much, but it was still terrifying to the opponent._

_Grabbing Craig's hand, he walked them outside, sitting on the bench as he calmed himself down. There was silence for a minute. Just a minute. "I could have handled that myself, you know." Craig rolled his eyes and Tweek frowned._

"_I wanted to stand up for you." Tweek insisted, biting at a hangnail. Craig moved his fingers away from his mouth, and Tweek blushed. "I always w-will. No matter w-what your ego has to s-say about it, Craig." Tweek stated firmly, and Craig rolled his eyes again, but gave him another one of his small smiles._

"_Forever."_

_**I looked after you**_

"_Hey Tweek." Tweek looked up as Craig approached him, leaning against the counter. Tweek blushed and smiled, his eyebrows furrowing to give him a queer smile when he saw Kyle, Stan, Kenny and Token behind him._

"_What do you say about hanging with us?" Kenny piped up, shooting Tweek a wink. Craig caught sight of it and growled under his breath. Tweek's smile fell and he frowned, giving a dismissive shrug. _

"_Sorry g-guys, I have to work for at least another hour!" Tweek explained, sighing as he saw a couple approach the till. "I'm g-gonna have to ask you guys to step aside. I have to take their orders." Tweek looked towards the man and woman before turning back to the person who grabbed his wrist._

"_I'll help." Craig said smoothly, shooing away the rest of the gang, and Tweek deliberated. He cast another glance at the patrons and gave in, letting Craig in the work area and taking the couples' order. Before he could make their drinks, Craig already had the sheet of paper in his hand, boiling the kettle. Tweek watched him, biting on his fingernails, just as Craig spilt the scorching hot water over himself. Craig barely flinched, but Tweek saw the red, blistered skin before he could brush it under the rug._

_His parents walked in, and he pleaded for them to take care of things while he took care of Craig. He marched him to the upstairs of the shop, where the Tweak's lived, and into their bathroom, where Tweek shoved him onto the edge of the bath as he got a wet flannel and gently applied it to Craig's burn._

"_I hope you didn't use that to wipe your ass." Craig muttered, and Tweek rolled his eyes, his cheeks reddening again. Craig caught Tweek's jaw with his good hand, and made their eyes connect. "Thanks, Tweek." Tweek gave an uneasy smile._

"_Stop being so d-damn independent. I'll look after y-you from now on." Tweek announced adamantly, and Craig nodded, pulling Tweek to him to kiss him briefly. Their lips barely touched, but Tweek's heart fluttered._

"_Forever."_

_**I loved you**_

"_Tweek, what are we doing?" Craig asked Tweek as they crept past yet another tree, slowly, painfully slowly, making their way across the forest. Tweek slammed his hand against Craig's mouth, shushing him._

"_We are infiltrating the secret government South Park surveillance base." Tweek deadpanned in a quiet voice, and Craig grabbed his wrist. Tweek turned to him, and screamed, forgetting his bid to be silent, as Craig slung him over one shoulder and began to walk away, a and flailing Tweek acting as a backpack._

"_This is for your own good." Craig threw out there casually, walking them half a mile before Tweek simpered and caved in, demanding to be put down and promising he wouldn't just run back. Tweek kept to his word, but remained sulky as they went back home. "Hey, I love you." Craig told him, trying to win him over._

_Tweek couldn't help smiling, admitting to himself he needed to stop getting so carried away. Not that he would let Craig know that. "I love y-you, too." Tweek took Craig's hand, putting his head on his shoulder. It was an awkward and uncomfortable move, but it was worth it._

"_Forever."_

_**I hurt you**_

_Tweek walked out of that flat. Tweek dug the blade into his skin. Tweek hurt Craig by doing that._

_But that was okay because Craig did whatever Tweek asked and Tweek did whatever Craig asked. That was fine because Craig looked out for Tweek and Tweek looked out for Craig. That was satisfactory because Craig looked after Tweek and Tweek looked after Craig. That was alright because Craig loved Tweek and Tweek loved Craig._

_That was love because Craig hurt Tweek, too. They would just do that._

_Forever and always._

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**This can be treated as a companion fic to "Dear Tweek".**


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